Call Number:

Ms. Coll. 1552

Repository:

University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts

Extent:

4.42 linear feet (5 boxes)

Language Note:

The majority of the material is in English with a small amount in German.

Preferred Citation:

Lawrence F. Bernstein collection of Leonard B. Meyer papers, 1952-1988, Ms. Coll. 1552, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania

Date:

1952-1988 (inclusive)

Creator:

Meyer, Leonard B.

Form:

Correspondence, Writings (documents), Research notes, Lectures, and Audiovisual materials

Abstract:

The Lawrence F. Bernstein collection of Leonard B. Meyer papers contains material American musicologist Meyer transferred to his colleague, Bernstein, upon his retirement from the University of Pennsylvania music department. The collection contains Meyer's correspondence, writings, research and teaching materials, documenting his life's work in music.

Leonard B. Meyer (1918-2007) was a musicologist and composer known for incorporating principles of cognitive science and psychology into the study of music. Born in New York City, Meyer grew up in Scarsdale, New York, where he studied music as a child. Though Meyer's father disapproved of his continuing to pursue music, Meyer's passion for music was unyielding. In a letter explaining his reasons for attending Columbia University, he writes to his parents: "I know father does not wish me to continue my music seriously during my first few years at college. He would rather have me concentrate on my college work alone. This I cannot and will not do." He chose philosophy as his official major, but continued to study music privately, primarily with the German-born composer Stefan Wolpe, who had recently relocated to New York City. After earning his B.A. in 1940, Meyer served in World War II before returning to Columbia for a master's degree in music, which he completed in 1948. In 1946, Aaron Copland, with whom Meyer had also studied, encouraged him to take a teaching position at the University of Chicago. While teaching, Meyer shifted away from composition and began his work in music theory and aesthetics, for which he is best known today, completing a PhD in the History of Culture in 1954. He continued teaching at Chicago until 1975, when he left to become professor of music and the humanities at the University of Pennsylvania, until his retirement in 1988. He published a number of influential works, including Emotion and Meaning in Music (1957), Music, the Arts, and Ideas: Patterns and Predictions in Twentieth-Century Culture (1967), and Style and Music: Theory, History and Ideology (1989).

American musicologist, Lawrence F. Bernstein was born in New York on March 25, 1939. He received his B.S. degree from Hofstra University in 1960 and his Ph.D. from New York University in 1969. He taught at the University of Chicago from 1961-1970 and the University of Pennsylvania from 1970-2009, where he served as chairperson of the music department from 1972-1973 and 1974-1977. He was appointed the Karen and Gary Rose Term Professor of Music at the University of Pennsylvania in 1996. He also served as a visiting professor at Columbia University (1979); Princeton University (1980); Rutgers University (1982-1983) and New York University (1982-1983). Bernstein received numerous awards including the Alfred Einstein prize of the American Musicological Society (1974), a National Endowment for the Humanities fellowship (1978), and a Guggenheim fellowship (1987-1988). A specialist in the music of the Renaissance, he published frequently on the 16th century French chanson. Bernstein retired from the University of Pennsylvania with emeritus status in 2009.

Sources:

Slonimsky, Nicolas, et al. " Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians. Encyclopedia.Com. 24 Aug. 2023 ." Encyclopedia.Com, 18 Sept. 2023, www.encyclopedia.com/arts/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/bernstein-lawrence-f.

University of Pennsylvania collection: Leonard B. Meyer papers, Ms. Coll. 722

This collection contains correspondence, drafts and notes for a few of Meyer's works, research and teaching materials, and audio tapes relating to his tenure at the University of Pennsylvania. The correspondence primarily relates to Meyer's professional life as an academic--including letters of recommendation, drafts of papers with comments, conference logistics, and general discussion of musical topics; with some personal correspondence mixed in. In addition to correspondence, the collection contains drafts of articles and lectures, including chapter drafts of the incomplete book project Music as a Model for History, as well as research material Meyer used for his writings and teaching. Other teaching material includes syllabi, grades and student papers. This collection should be used with the more comprehensive Leonard B. Meyer papers, Ms. Coll. 722, also held at the Kislak Center.

I. Correspondence II. Writings a. Articles b. Lectures c. Incomplete writings III. Research material IV. Teaching materials V. Audiotapes